NADD, The Crocked Alliance: Only PDOIS Can Hang Onto It

The UDP U.K branch knows that, this analysis of Halifa's Sallah comments may irritate a section of his support base, that is not our intention. We hope to respond in clarifying and putting a different perpective to his two part response to Pa Mbye.Halifa's comments are in inverted comas and italise. We hope to foster a healthy dialogue which cannot at all times be friendly. But trouble societies must go through difficult discussions, burying our heads in sand and pretending as if all is alright is futile. The path to unseating Jammeh will take strange turns, but it will happen. We put our trust in God.So help us God.

“Pa, the other issue of concern to me is your insinuation of lack of sincerity and principles within the NADD leadership. You mentioned lack of sincerity, principles and greed as the cause of the split in NADD. Could you identify those you consider to be lacking in sincerity and principles in NADD which led to its collapse? Could you also identify for me who are currently the insincere leaders in NADD and explain what led you to draw such a conclusion? If those leaders in NADD and those who have left NADD are insincere, unprincipled and greedy then why are you calling on them to unite to remove Jammeh? What is the significance of your lesson that unity is strength? How could the unity of insincere, unprincipled and greedy people give rise to strength to liberate a country?” Halifa Sallah

The questions raised by Pa Nderry Mbye were legitimate and requiring less aggressive answers from Halifa. The true colour of the leader of the defunct NADD has surface in every passing day. Halifa was holding key positions in NADD at every turn from the onset to the down fall. Any sincere and serious politician would have asked himself, why? Halifa knows for a fact, he is a political light weight whose main command base in writing on Foroyaa or to some of his fan base online. Twisting of facts on the breakup of NADD is clear to many Gambians who paid attention to the process which lead to the disintegration of a damned union. Halifa was always having an eye for the leadership yet, pretending to Gambians that, he is less interested in power and more interested in sovereign preaching. Who does Halifa thinks he is deceiving?

“Many people marvel at the fact that two parties with diametrically opposed objectives are the last to leave NADD but few marvel at the ingenuity which makes it possible to achieve the impossible. What is more intriguing is that the architects of the irony are calling for another marriage of convenience while at the same time calling for a dissolution of the earlier marriage of convenience.” Halifa Sallah

It is clear then that, Halifa now has a shore relationship with some members of the group who were the architect of NADD. He is blaming them for having the courage and wish to rid the Gambia of Yahya. This is interesting. Didn’t Halifa with over twenty years of political experience read or even show marriage of convenience in many parts of the globe including Senegal, Kenya etc? Is Halifa saying that, politicians must have one ideology to unite over anything?

“You the youths in the Diaspora made it a principle that any body who refused to join the alliance of opposites should be seen to be insincere, unprincipled, greedy and unpatriotic. Hence you forced people to become what they were not and then accuse them of being insincere when they show their true colour.” Halifa

The regular media propaganda of the lone ranger in NADD/PDOIS wishing to heap blame on others except himself yet again by blaming committed well meaning Gambians on wishing to have a united opposition. Halifa’s reference to “...when they show their true colour” is a cynical attack on the UDP and others who pulled out of the coalition of NADD. What Halifa fail to admit and make clear with all his self-righteous rants are that, he singlehandedly became the thorn in the whole NADD set up.Halifa’s delusion and false pride in his academic all roundedness means, he will never concede to any opposition leader no matter what. Therefore he will always use means to trigger a stalemate in negotiations and possible coalition talks. Halifa may be read on line by those Gambians interested, but on the ground, Halifa don’t stand a chance in any leadership primary elections. His equation is either him or no one else.Halifa the political strategist, Halifa the constitutional expert, Halifa the Historian, Halifa the educationist, Halifa the sociologist/academic, Halifa the everything. What chance do other opposition candidates have with a man who belittle and looks down on all others? Yet seeing through Halifa’s inadequacies are much easier than he would make them out to be.Him being the only sincere Gambian politician, and others power hungry, less educated, inarticulate, and less eloquent as he regularly puts it, Halifa’s arrogance surpasses every ounce of a humble and patriotic politician. If others show their true colour by refusing to bow down to his singular wish of becoming the flag bearer using treacherous means. Halifa is today the one showing his true self, by blowing his top in simple matters like that raised by Pa Nderry.

"Sincerity and full adherence to original principle means that opposites should not be allowed to mix. By now we would have had a more vibrant opposition and more opposition members in the national assembly by forming tactical alliances of one sort or the other." Halifa

Tactical alliance couldn't be possible because Halifa's craft was expose by then. He knew without such alliance he doesn't stand a chance to regain his seat, his campiagn was all base on attacking the UDP. Who does Halifa think he is? castigating an opposition party regularly and wanting them help you win a seat. Let him come to terms with his own contradictions.

“...all other alliances are based on one party putting its own agenda and principles on ice and render support to the principles and policies of another without any conditionality. You see a conflict of interest in the NADD alliance but not in the other Alliances.” Halifa

Here the PDOIS Serrekunda East failed candidate has declared openly that, they will not put their weight behind any other party thereby freezing their party’s principles. But in reality, it doesn’t have to be that way. Lesser parties can still promote their principles whilst openly backing and strategising a formidable election campaign for the bigger opposition party. What Halifa wish to convince us is that, NADD has a winning parliamentarian in Sedia, which proofs that, the new party was well received, all that is needed is uniting behind NADD regardless of the size of the opposition party.

“The existence of the law would have enabled PDOIS to determine whether it could continue to operate under NADD, since it has provided a victorious candidate for both National Assembly and Council seats in Wuli or fully assess the full implication of its withdrawal from NADD.” Halifa

The writing is all on the wall now. PDOIS produce a winning candidate in Wulli and Serrekunda, yet similar result occurred in NADD. What is baffling is that, why is PDOIS executive trying to hide away from the party’s identity in the guise of NADD? Is it that, PDOIS is synonymous with communism? Or that Gambians could not be attach to the party for over twenty years and now a fantastic idea emerged in NADD were the past can be masqueraded and reinvented in NADD.

"Are you convinced of the ineptitude of most of our critics who do not think holistically to evolve relevant strategies and tactics to shape the destiny of this country or do you want me to proceed to expose their barren conception?" Halifa Sallah

Now who would have thought, the man dupe the calm and intellectual brian power of the Gambia losing his cool. If he convince himself that, he has the best brian yet could not device any serious plan to unite the Gambian people, what else does Halifa has to boost about? 'Barren conception' that is a joke.

"Hence NADD could not die a natural death because people from a party who were never in for alloying their political principles accepted to bow down to the demands for unity and having done so on the basis of sound principles stayed the course and are now exploring how to achieve the same aim NADD set out to achieve while gradually breathing life into their own political organisation." Halifa

PDOIS will wish NADD remains. The support base hardly have a say, Halifa is the spokesman, leader, thinker, strategist etc. Why does he think people will believe the pretentious idea that, he will involve his party rank and file in NADD's future? NADD should be dissolve as political party, and alliance base on party lead utilise.

"For your information, since 2008 the PDOIS membership is being consulted on the need to hold a congress to review the way forward including its future relation with NADD or its nullification." HalifaWe eagerly awaits the result of the pending consultation. The irony for now is that, all we see is one man being the everything of a party. One wonder whether any body else's opinion matters in NADD or PDOIS.Halifa's part two will be analyse so far as areas where he made explicit or implicit remarks against the UDP is concern. The UDP leadership will be convince not to respond to a frustrated politician who enjoys the media misinformation.The part two is quiet similar in remarks to part one, hence the analysis will be less wordy as this one. The UDP reserve the right to respond to political advantegeous comments from its rivals. When the leadership of other opposition parties avoid making comments against the UDP by giving unity a chance, we will relent and also give unity a chance.Halifa's supporters cannot silence us by using unity talks as tool, unless Halifa desist we will not.The can call us lacking soveign education or civic knowledge, we don't mind, we too have our opinions on him.UDP U.K coordinator

About Me

I was born in Seira Leone in 1977, in the District of Kono, the Town of Sefadou, the area locally known as Obawese or Tinbelane, by a Gambian father and Mother. I came to the Gambia shortly after the aborted 1981 bloody coup. I resided with my step-father, the late MP A.K Touray in Bakau and London Corner, before resettling to our Constituency of Sandou, URR. I consider myself an activist for progress and wanting to see an end to tyranny and oppression. I am affiliated with the UDP. I write on various topics. I believe strongly in family values and home education for children. I love the history of the Gambia and her different cultures . I now host a Tuesday show on www.kibaaro.com on culture and tradition. I have completed an MA degree in Islamic Banking, Finance and Management in Gloucestershire University and in partnership with the Markfield institute, an expert specialist in Islamic education in Europe. My first academic career is Accountancy which is still a field I love. My day job is administering financial issues at a local government authority, a job I enjoy fully.
I can be reached by email or on skype at suntou5 or suntou@btinternet.com.